After years of studying Russian in
school and studying abroad in Russia for a semester, I have been
asked countless times the question, “Why Russia?” Often, I stare
for a moment in silence, contemplating the answer. As far as
questions have gone, this one is not the easiest to pinpoint, at
least in its origins. I have no doubt that I could probably talk for
half an hour or more (probably far more) about “why Russia” now,
after having learned so much, and after falling in love with the
country and its culture. Similarly, now that the news has spread
that I am going to the Republic of Georgia on a Fulbright teaching
grant, I have gotten the question again, but this time it is “Why
Georgia?”
First and foremost, my interest in
Georgia and the Caucasus was born out of an interest in Russia, even
though, at the time in 2004, my sights were set relatively firmly on
Germany. Russia had always been present in the back of my brain as
my interest in other cultures began to develop. I loved history,
especially contemporary history and nothing sparked my interest more
than World War I and World War II. I was particularly interested in
both Germany and Russia's role in these wars. As far as Georgia and
the Caucasus are concerned, the event that captured my interest
started with the horrific tragedy of the Beslan School Siege in 2004
in the semi-autonomous Russian republic of North Ossetia-Alania. A
year after that event, I began writing a story about Russia and
decided I wanted to have a character come from the Caucasus and so I
began to research the region. Since then, I have never looked back.
When I entered college at the
University of Montana in 2009, one of my Russian professors mentioned
to me the Fulbright Program. At the time, I had not really
considered Fulbright to be an option for a number of reasons. For
one, I just did not think I had the academic chops to make it; secondly, I was fairly certain I did not want to teach; and thirdly, although you could conduct research which I absolutely love doing, my perceived lack of competitiveness held me back. The amount
of self growth that I experienced in college is a whole other topic
all of its own, one that I will not go into here, but can say is
integral to me winning a Fulbright Fellowship. I chose Montana
because I thought the mountains would give me the chance to find
myself and to become the person I was meant to be. It took hard
work, determination, and help from professors, family, friends, and
Missoula to make the progress that I did both academically and personally. At the start of my senior
year of college, after having spent a semester in Russia, my
professor again mentioned Fulbright to me. This time, my attitude
was far different and far more positive and I decided to apply.
Another reason that is so integral to
the “Why Georgia?” question is my career interests. Since high
school, I had been interested in working as a diplomat, with an
emphasis on geopolitical analysis with a specialization in Russia and
the Caucasus. College only helped to expand that interest to also
include cultural analysis. My professors helped me to understand how
important culture is to a society and how it lays the political
foundation in that society. People have asked me many times why I
decided to major in Russian language and literature, and not
political science, and I explain to them my reasons. Through courses
I took and research in my own time, I incorporated the Caucasus into
my studies. During my senior year, I had the fortune to be able to
write a research paper on the history behind the 2008 Russo-Georgian
War. Writing and presenting on this topic was a dream come true for
me and gave me the confidence that I had made the right choice in
applying for a Fulbright teaching grant to Georgia. The opportunity
to go to Georgia will give me the experience, skills, and credibility
on the region when I enter a career in the future.
An important aspect to include, that
goes hand in hand with my career interests and simple love of
learning, is the chance to learn a new language and improve on
another. Georgian is the official language of the Republic of
Georgia. The language is part of the Kartvelian language family and
is related to no other language in the world. Their alphabet is
comprised of thirty-three letters and is one of the oldest alphabets
in the world. Just those facts alone are enticing to me, but also
enticing is the fact that having a knowledge of a regional language
will help me to better understand the region. I say this will help
me understand the region better despite the fact that in the span
that the Caucasus Mountains stretch, five hundred miles from the
Black Sea to the Caspian, well over one hundred languages are spoken.
However, it is a step in the right direction. So, this summer,
before I embark on this adventure, I am teaching myself Georgian. I
hope that by the time I arrive in Georgia in what I assume will be
September (I have not yet been placed), I will have memorized the
alphabet and will be able to have a basic vocabulary with the ability
to speak some survival Georgian. In addition, since
Georgia once belonged to the Soviet Union, that not only will my
knowledge of Russian come in handy, but that it will improve while I
am over there. Time will tell.
This is a long post but there are two
other reasons I have for choosing to go to Georgia and simply put,
they are natural beauty and roads less traveled. Georgia is a
country roughly the size of South Carolina and is composed of
breathtaking natural beauty. The mountainous geography of Georgia
and the culture of Georgia are inextricably linked. I have always
felt a special, often spiritual connection to the mountains and I
have always been intrigued by cultures and peoples of the mountains.
The fact that many people in America do not know that this country
and region exist is another reason why I am going there and why I
want this area to be a part of my career. Too often, when I have
told people of my plans, they look at me curiously and say:
“Atlanta?...Well, I suppose their English can be improved.” I
want to end statements like this; I want people to know the beauty of
this region; I want people to know its culture, its history, its
languages, and its contribution and importance in the world.
So, there you have it, in not so many
plain terms, about why I chose Georgia. It is hard to say for sure
what will happen in the ten months that I am over there; I am sure
some of these reasons will both change and evolve for the better.
In closing, I do wonder,
as a fellow Fulbright Fellow to Bulgaria pointed out, if anyone ever
asks the question, “Why France?”
Expect a lot more to come in the months
ahead.
